Ljubljana slated to become world's fastest-warming city

Ljubljana, 12 July - Ljubljana, a city situated on the meeting point of two climate zones most affected by global warming - northern Mediterranean and the Alpine region, is slated to become the fastest-warming city in the world, a projection by Swiss institute Crowther Lab shows.

In line with the projection, temperatures in the Slovenian capital in the warmest month of the year will go up by 8 degrees Celsius by 2050, while the average annual temperatures are to rise by 3.5 degrees.

Central Europe and the Balkans are expected to see the most notable temperature raises, so the climate in the region is expected to resemble that of Texas cities in the US, the study shows.

According to climatologist Aljoša Slameršak, Crowther Lab projections are very much in line with the forecasts the Slovenian Environment Agency presented last year. The estimate for Ljubljana's hottest month might be somewhat more drastic but not impossible, Slameršek told the newspaper Dnevnik.

"We must take into account the climatology of cities, which differs from the climatology of the wider area. With a concentration of unnatural surfaces we get heat island effects in the cities," he explained.

Ljubljana is expected to see the biggest rise in average summer months temperatures among all 520 cities included in the Crowther Lab survey. One-quarter of the cities are projected to see drastic changes.

According to the projections, the weather in Ljubljana in 2050 will resemble that in Virginia Beach, US.

The Slovenian capital would be affected by global warming so severely because Slovenia is the meeting point of two climate zones that are most affected by global warming - northern Mediterranean and the Alpine region.

This means more rain, more dry spells and above-average temperature rise, Slameršek told Dnevnik, adding that up to three long heat waves per summer would become common place with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees.

Crowther Lab made its projections based on the assumption that countries will not implement the Paris climate deal in full and climatologists stress that such scenarios could still be avoided with immediate and radical action.

"Bad news is that Slovenia cannot affect climate change one bit by reducing its emissions. We are mainly dependant on the European climate policy," Slameršek said.